Teaching on the subject of faith, it is important
to show people from the Scriptures that God has
not blessed one person with more faith than He
has blessed someone else. Folks often see
someone prospering according to the Word,
whether in his health, his finances, his family, and
so forth, and they get the mistaken impression
that God must have given that person more faith.
So the first thing I want you to know is this:
Every believer has been given a measure—the
same measure—of the God-kind of faith.
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and
that not of yourselves: IT IS THE GIFT OF
GOD. Ephesians 2:8
According as GOD HATH DEALT TO EVERY
MAN the measure of faith. Romans 12:3
So we know that faith comes from God. It is the
“gift of God.” But He has given it to every
believer. He has given to every believer the
measure, or the same measure, of faith.
Notice also that God has done it ( Rom. 12:3 ); it’s
not something that He is going to do. We’re not
trying to get faith. We’re not praying for it. We
have it. Every believer already has a measure of
the God-kind of faith. You see, God gets
everyone started off the same way. He doesn’t
give one person more faith than He gives
another. He gives to every man the measure of
faith. Then your faith grows according to what
you do with it.
A lot of people have done with their faith what
the fellow in the Bible did with his one talent (see
Matthew 25:25 ). They’ve just wrapped their faith
up in a napkin, so to speak, and hid it. They
haven’t used it at all.
It’s up to you what you do with the measure of
faith God has given you. So the second thing I
want you to know is this: This measure of faith
can be increased. But you’re the one who
increases it, not God. Certainly God furnishes the
means whereby faith can be increased. But you
increase your faith by doing two things: feeding it
on the Word of God and exercising it—or putting it
into practice. The Bible very often uses natural
human terms to teach spiritual thoughts. For
example, this is how Jesus taught in His earthly
ministry, as we can read in the Gospels.
…Man shall not live by bread alone, but by
every word that proceeds out of the mouth
of God. Matthew 4:4
Jesus is using a natural human idea to convey a
spiritual thought. He’s saying to us that what
bread (or food) is to the body, the Word of God is
to the spirit, or the heart, of man. You know that
if you eat food regularly, it will build you up
physically. Yet if you eat right but don’t exercise,
all you’ll do is get flabby and out of shape. In
much the same way, you need to feed your faith
on God’s Word. But you also need to exercise your
faith, because if you don’t, your faith muscles will
be flabby. They won’t be able to do much
spiritually when it comes to moving mountains in
your life.
You can feed your spirit on God’s Word and
thereby feed your faith, because God’s Word is
faith food. But you also need to exercise your
faith to develop it and cause it to grow. In
Romans 10:8 , Paul called the message he
preached the word of faith. He called the Word of
God the word of faith, because the Word will
cause faith to come into your heart ( Rom. 10:17 ).
God’s Word will build assurance, confidence, and
faith in your heart. Then you’re to exercise that
faith.
So we know that the measure of faith we’ve
received can be increased by doing two things: by
feeding it on God’s Word and by putting it into
practice (or exercising it) in everyday living. One
person said, “You either have faith or you don’t.”
In one sense, that’s true. You’re either a believer
or a non-believer. But in another sense when
people say that, they are implying that every
believer has faith in every respect the same as
another believer. But that’s not true. One
person’s faith may not be the same as another
person’s faith. There can be a measurable
difference! You see, the Word of God tells us that
our faith can grow. Therefore, one person’s faith
may not be as developed or as strong as another
person’s faith.
Remember, it’s up to you what you do with the
measure of faith God has given you. For example,
you can cause your faith to grow. You can feed
and exercise it so when the storms of life come,
you will have strong faith. But another person
may not do anything with his faith. The person
who does nothing with his faith will have weak
faith. Second Thessalonians 1:3 says, “We are
bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it
is meet, because that your FAITH GROWETH
EXCEEDINGLY. . . .” God is saying that faith can
grow. Well, since faith can grow, it can be either
strong or weak—developed or undeveloped.
Let’s look at several other
statements Jesus made about faith.
If then God so clothe the grass, which is
today in the field, and to morrow is cast into
the oven; how much more will he clothe you,
O YE OF LITTLE FAITH? Luke 12:28
And Peter answered [Jesus] and said, Lord, if
it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the
water. 29 And he said, Come. And when
Peter was come down out of the ship, he
walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 30 But
when he saw the wind boisterous, he was
afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried,
saying, Lord, save me. 31 And immediately
Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught
him, and said unto him, O THOU OF LITTLE
FAITH, wherefore didst thou doubt? Matthew
14:28–31
In these passages of Scripture, Jesus is speaking
about little, or small, faith. In Matthew 14:31 ,
Jesus asked Peter, “O you of little faith, why did
you doubt?” In Matthew chapter 8, Jesus
commended the faith of the centurion who came
to Him on behalf of his servant. Jesus said the
centurion had great faith.
5 And when Jesus was entered into
Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion,
beseeching him, 6 And saying, Lord, my
servant lieth at home sick of the palsy,
grievously tormented. 7 And Jesus saith unto
him, I will come and heal him. 8 The centurion
answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy
that thou shouldest come under my roof: but
speak the word only, and my servant shall be
healed.… 10 When Jesus heard it, he
marveled, and said to them that followed,
Verily I say unto you, I have not found so
great faith, no, not in Israel…. 13 And Jesus
said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as
thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.
And his servant was healed in the selfsame
hour. Matthew 8:5–8 , 10 , 13
Jesus said to the disciples about the centurion,
“…I have not found so great faith, no, not in
Israel” (v. 10). So in these passages we’ve read,
Jesus told one man that he had great faith and
told another man that he had little faith. Romans
4:19 speaks of weak faith.
And being not WEAK IN FAITH, he [Abraham]
considered not his own body now dead, when
he was about an hundred years old, neither
yet the deadness of Sara’s womb. Romans
4:19
The very next verse speaks of strong faith.
He staggered not at the promise of God
through unbelief; but was STRONG IN FAITH,
giving glory to God. Romans 4:20
From these verses, we can conclude that faith can
either be weak or strong. I am proving to you
through Scripture that faith is measurable—that it
can grow. We already mentioned that the Bible
talks about growing faith ( 2 Thessalonians 1:3 ).
Acts 6:5 says Stephen was full of faith. James
2:5 mentions rich faith. James 2:22 speaks of a
perfect faith. First Timothy 1:5 speaks of
unfeigned faith, or faith that is genuine and
sincere. First Timothy 1:19 speaks of shipwrecked
faith and of holding on to faith and to a good
conscience. And First John 5:4 speaks of
overcoming faith.
The Bible says, “In the mouth of two or three
witnesses shall every word be established” ( Matt.
18:16 ). I just gave you more than 10 witnesses!
And all of these verses will prove to you that
faith is measurable.
We know that the measure of faith given to every
believer can grow. Your faith can be
strengthened by feeding it on the Word of God
and by exercising it or putting it into practice. F.
F. Bosworth said, “Most Christians feed their body
three hot meals a day and their spirit one cold
snack a week. And they wonder why they’re so
weak in faith.” Well, physically speaking, if you
just ate one cold snack a week, you would grow
weak physically! But the same is true spiritually.
God’s Word is faith food, and if we want our faith
to grow, we must feed it more than once a week!
If you want your faith to grow, you have to start
where you are. No one climbs a ladder starting on
the top rung. You’ve got to start on the bottom
rung and climb up if you’re going to reach the top.
That’s the thing that defeats a lot of well-meaning
Christians—they try to believe beyond their faith.
Remember, just because someone has fed more on
God’s Word and has exercised his faith is not a
sign that God have him more faith than He gave
someone else. No, the person who fed on the
Word and exercised his faith had the same
measure of faith to begin with as the others had.
But he fed his faith and exercised it, and his faith
grew strong! As a result he could believe God for
more.
So keep a positive attitude about your own faith.
Recognize that you have faith and that you can
cause it to grow. Feed your faith and exercise it
right where you are in your Christian walk. Then
your faith can grow and move mountains!